Business Licensing & Operations in Indiana (2026)

Clark County requires separate $5,000 owner and operator licenses, issued by an Adult Entertainment Commission, before…

Adult arcades, bookstores, cabarets and theaters are confined to Evansville's C-4, M-1, M-2 and M-3 zones and must sit…

Fort Wayne requires a Police Chief-issued license before operating a sexually oriented business, plus a separate…

Operating an adult entertainment business in Indianapolis without a license from the license administrator is unlawful…

LaPorte County requires a sexually oriented business license before anyone may operate that kind of business, and a…

Porter County requires an Improvement Location Permit before any sexually oriented business opens, and UDO § 5.44 SX-01…

South Bend requires every adult business, from bookstores to viewing-booth arcades, to hold a $500 annual license…

Any sexually oriented business in unincorporated St. Joseph County needs a county auditor permit before opening, backed…

Tippecanoe County bars any adult entertainment business from locating within 500 feet of another adult entertainment…

Adult bookstores, cabarets, theaters, arcades, nude model studios and peep show facilities are zoned Use Group 21 in…

Clark County zones massage parlors as adult entertainment: they are allowed only in the M1, M2 and M3 industrial…

Fort Wayne requires a $250/year Board of Public Safety permit to operate a massage establishment, plus a $25/year…

Operating a massage business in South Bend requires a $200 annual establishment license from the Board of Public…

Anyone operating a massage establishment or practicing massage therapy in unincorporated St. Joseph County needs a…

Tippecanoe County's zoning code lists 'massage establishments (parlors)' (SIC 7299) under its Adult Entertainment…

Vanderburgh County requires every massage business, called a "health club" in the code, to hold a Sheriff-issued permit…

Evansville requires a Safety Board-issued massage therapy license before anyone may perform massage for a fee…

Operating, conducting, or maintaining a massage establishment in Indianapolis without a license from the license…

Evansville tattoo and body-piercing businesses need an annual Vanderburgh County Health Department permit; operators…

Hamilton County requires an annual license from the Health Department to operate a body art establishment or work as a…

Tattoo, piercing, and body modification shops in unincorporated Hendricks County need an annual Health Officer permit…

LaPorte County requires a Health Officer permit for every tattoo or body piercing facility, including mobile…

Porter County requires every tattoo and body piercing facility to hold an annual permit from the county health officer…

Anyone operating a tattoo, body piercing, branding or scarifying business in South Bend needs a City license before…

Anyone who tattoos or pierces bodies for pay in unincorporated St. Joseph County, and any facility where the work…

Tattoo parlors are a permitted commercial zoning use in Indianapolis-Marion County, but they must sit specific…

Tippecanoe County requires every tattoo, piercing, or body art shop in the unincorporated county to hold a Health…

Every tattoo parlor and body piercing facility in Vanderburgh County needs a Health Department license, and every…

Indiana requires retailers to hold an Electronic Cigarette Retailer Certificate to sell vapor products, complying with…

A bar that wants to let customers smoke cigars or hookah tobacco on-site must first qualify as a licensed 'tobacco…

Evansville secondhand merchants must be licensed, report every purchase to police by noon the next day, and hold items…

Running a secondhand store in unincorporated St. Joseph County requires a license from the county auditor, granted only…

Elkhart County requires every precious metal dealer operating in the unincorporated area to register with the County…

Fishers requires anyone who owns or operates a secondhand entity, including pawnshops, junk dealers, scrap yards, and…

Fort Wayne requires secondhand dealers to report every purchase, sale, and exchange to the Police Department daily…

Junk shops, junk yards, auto wreckers, and other salvage or scrap metal dealers in Indianapolis must hold an annual…

LaPorte County treats secondhand retailers under the same Chapter 112 scheme as pawnshops and scrap dealers: no…

South Bend secondhand dealers need a $115 annual license from the City Controller after a Police Department background…

Evansville requires pawnbrokers to hold a City license backed by a $1,000 bond and to log and report every pawn…

St. Joseph County doesn't run its own pawnbroker license; that's a state function under Indiana law. Instead, the…

Fort Wayne does not issue its own pawn shop license, but it requires daily transaction reporting to police and a…

Anyone who wants to lend money against pledged personal property, or buy goods with an option to sell them back, must…

LaPorte County does not license pawnshops separately, but Chapter 112 forces every pawnbroker to log each pledge or…

Evansville, Indiana's closed list of permitted home occupations covers only named office and service professions - auto…

Indianapolis zoning allows a wide range of home occupations, but Sec. 743-306.L.16.d draws a hard line against running…

The county zoning ordinance's Appendix D use table, referenced by § 157.043, lists "Automobile repair, body shop, auto…

Porter County flatly excludes automobile, motor vehicle, or equipment painting and repair of any kind from the list of…

Fixing cars, other vehicles, lawn mowers, or large appliances for pay is banned as a home occupation anywhere in…

Tippecanoe County flatly prohibits vehicle repair as a home occupation. UZO § 5-5-4(b) names 'automobile, truck or…

Hamilton County's code carves "automobile repair shop" status out of any business run from a residentially-classified…

South Bend treats any location, including a home garage, that repairs or services vehicles for a fee as an automotive…

Tow companies performing non-consensual tows starting in the city must hold a license from the division of construction…

A towing service that removes a vehicle under Vanderburgh County's abandoned vehicle chapter must staff a 24-hour…

Fishers caps police-ordered tow, storage, and lien fees and requires towing businesses to keep a Hamilton County…

Lake County selects and contracts with towing companies through its Board of Commissioners, and only a company under a…

A South Bend company cannot tow, boot, or immobilize a vehicle from private property without an annual $125 vehicle…